Charlotte [US], May 8 : Akshay Bhatia shot a second straight 69 and moved up to T-36 after the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship, even as Wyndham Clark shot an 8-under 63 to get into the pole position and bid for his first PGA TOUR win.
Bhatia, who shot 72 in the first round has since added 69-69, while another American Indian Sahith Theegala (67-74-71) dropped to T-50.
Clark, 29, is now two clear lead going into the final round and is at 16-under 197 for the tournament at Quail Hollow.
McIlroy's bid for a fourth successive win at Quail Hollow is almost over as he carded 71 that left him at 1-under for the tournament and is 15 shots behind Clark.
Xander Schauffele, the world's fifth-ranked player, carded 64 and is now 14 under. Australian Adam Scott and third-round co-leader Tyrrell Hatton are tied for third at 11 under and five shots behind Clark.
Tommy Fleetwood, Harris English and Sungjae Im are tied for fifth, six shots off the pace. Defending champion Max Homa shot 68 and is at 8 under for the tournament.
It has been a close tournament that had 11 players tied for the lead at one point.
Though Clark has never won, he has been in good form with Top-6 finishes in three of his last five tournaments and has not missed a cut since last October's Shriners Children's Open.
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